I Am the Door

This is the manuscript of the fourth sermon in a series titled "The Adequacy of Jesus Christ", which is a study of the seven ‘I am' sayings of Jesus found in the gospel of John.

In his gospel John consistently shows the relationship between the revelation of God in the Old Testament and the revelation of Jesus as God in the New Testament era.

As God promised to be adequate to meet the needs of Moses and the children of Israel, so Jesus also claimed divine adequacy.

Text: John 10:7 NKJV Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

Doors are necessary to any enclosure. Some doors are elaborate, and some are simple. Some are ornate and intricate, while others are plain and simply functional. Doors and gates have been made from almost every known material: stone, wood, glass, various metals, bamboo, plastic, and many others. Doors have handles, hinges, removable panels or screens, door knockers, peepholes, and locks. And there are various kinds of doors: screen doors, storm doors, front doors, back doors, side doors, garage doors, gate doors, as well as doors for rooms, closets, storm cellars, and vehicles.

The familiarity of this “door idea” is exactly what Jesus had in mind when he told his followers, “I am the door of the sheepfold.” Building on all we know about doors and their function; we can readily see what Jesus was trying to say about himself and God’s kingdom.

Listen to an audio recording of the sermon by clicking on the YouTube link at the end of the manuscript.

You can also watch a video recording of the entire service on the Christ Church YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/CWG96yTHvC4

Visit the Christ Church website at christchurchlosangeles.org.

Scripture Reading: 

John 10:1‭-‬10 NIV “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a rbber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Text: 

John 10:7 NKJV Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

John 10:7 NIV “Therefore Jesus said again, ‘I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep’” 

Introduction

Doors are necessary to any enclosure. Some doors are elaborate, and some are simple. Some are ornate and intricate, while others are plain and simply functional. Doors and gates have been made from almost every known material: stone, wood, glass, various metals, bamboo, plastic, and many others. Doors have handles, hinges, removable panels or screens, door knockers, peepholes, and locks. And there are various kinds of doors: screen doors, storm doors, front doors, back doors, side doors, garage doors, gate doors, as well as doors for rooms, closets, storm cellars, cars, busses we could go on and on.  There are doors for almost everything. 

The familiarity of this “door idea” is exactly what Jesus had in mind when he told his followers, “I am the door of the sheepfold.” Building on all we know about doors and their function; we can readily see what Jesus was trying to say about himself and God’s kingdom.  He is the entryway into the kingdom. 

A door is for coming and going 

Jesus makes this plain in John 10:9

John 10:9 NKJV I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

Mankind is looking for the way to eternal life and we as believers know that Jesus is the entryway. He made this declaration that he is the doorway, the gate, the entryway. Many folk claim that there are other ways to God but Jesus is saying that He is the only true avenue to God.

In the ninth chapter of John, a man was excommunicated from organized religion because of an encounter with Jesus.  This man was kicked out of the synagogue which to the Jews this was the same as having been cut off from God. 

Here’s the story.  Jesus came across a man who had been born blind.  He healed the man by spitting on the ground, making mud, and putting the mud on the man’s eyes.  He told the guy to go wash the mud off and when he did the man could see.  The problem was that this happened on the Sabbath and the Pharisees considered healing, by making the mud, to be work and  work was prohibited on the Sabbath. So, they brought the man and his parents in to question them so they could accuse Jesus of breaking the law.  

The entire thing ends up like this;

John 9:30‭-‬34 NKJV The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.” They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out.

So, they kicked the man out which in their sight meant that this guy was now cut off from God.

Jesus, when He learns that the man has been kicked out finds him and reassures this man and the disciples that the way to come to God is through Him, and not the synagogue or through established religion.

John 9:35‭-‬41 NKJV Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him. And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.

Back to our text. 

John 10:9 NKJV I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

Remember this series covers the seven ‘I am' sayings of Jesus found in the gospel of John. Also remember that in his gospel John consistently shows the relationship between the revelation of God in the Old Testament and the revelation of Jesus as God in the New Testament era.

As John listened to Jesus’ teachings, he saw a significant parallelism between God’s announcement of his name to Moses and Jesus’ repeated announcements about his person in the “I am” statements. 

As we have learned,  in this series, I AM is the ultimate statement of self-sufficiency, self-existence, and immediate presence. As God promised to be adequate to meet the needs of Moses and the children of Israel, so Jesus also claimed divine adequacy, for mankind.

The first I am statement was 

John 6:35 NIV Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Here he speaks of how He can satisfy, that He is sufficient, and that He provides salvation.

We examined the second I am statement last week.

John 8:12 NIV When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

We learned that Jesus offers true light to a world walking in shadows and darkness. He exposes artificial light as being inferior. He dispels sin and leaves no room for it in a person’s life. He adds zest for living by giving us hope in our darkest hours.

Now Jesus says 

John 10:9 NKJV I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

The sheep did not just come into the sheepfold to spend the rest of their lives in the sheepfold. The sheepfold was a place for rest and restoration of strength during the night or during a storm. But the sheep come in and go back out to pasture.

Here’s the point. 

We enter God’s kingdom through Jesus. When I say go in and out of the sheepfold there is no thought here of ever losing our salvation. This analogy shifts from salvation to growing and maturing as a Christian “sheep.”

You come to Christ for rest, restoration, and comfort. Then you go back out into the world. You are allowed to come in and go out because doorways are for coming and going. 

In you coming and going Jesus is the source of your strength and spiritual health. 

Isaiah 40:29‭-‬31 NIV He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

A door is also for protection and safety.

In the first century, there were two kinds of sheepfolds. One kind was located in the village and was a community shelter where several shepherds might leave their flocks overnight or for several days. This sheepfold usually had a strong door or gate and also someone to guard it.

But a second, more modest sheepfold was in the countryside. It was usually a stone wall or fenced enclosure without any door or gate. The shepherd slept in the doorway. No sheep could go out without his notice, and no wild beast could get in without his being awakened. So in the most literal sense, the shepherd was the door because he provides protection and safety for the sheep. 

Whether Jesus was referring to the village sheepfold door that was strong and well guarded or whether he was referring to the rural sheepfold with the shepherd as the door is really immaterial. In either case, the sheep are well protected and can rest in peace knowing that they are safe.

The anxiety of life is a constant threat to our safety and well-being and Jesus offers us the reassurance that he is our protector. 

Psalms 23:1‭-‬6 NIV The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Jesus cares and provides for us. 

We are his sheep, so he gladly lays down his life for us.

John 10:11 NKJV “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

And He did, He laid down His life for us. 

Romans 3:23‭-‬25 NIV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—

Romans 5:6‭-‬8 NIV You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

During the night, a sheep might be startled and awakened. If so, it would surely look toward the gate. If it could see the shepherd sitting or lying at the gate, the sheep would know, even in its fear, that the shepherd was there.

Just a door opens it closes 

There is a door, or way, into God’s favor. It is a door that is as broad as the heart of God, a door that is open to all races, all ages, both sexes, and persons from every strata of society. It is a door open to rich or poor, important people or forgotten people, the powerful, and the weak.  That door is Jesus. 

The door is open, and the invitation is clear. 

John 10:9 NKJV I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

But there are two implications here.

There is only one way in, only one door. And that door is Jesus. All other doors are closed. Those who seek to enter into God’s kingdom any other way, by any other door, will find a dead end. Doing charitable deeds is a door but you can’t enter God’s kingdom through it.  Feeding the hungry is a door but you can’t enter God’s kingdom through it. Just being a good person is a door but you can’t enter God’s kingdom through it. Those doors while being good things lead nowhere. Some will not open at all, and those who find doors, other than Jesus will find that they are useless.

A second implication is that the true door does not stay open forever. That door closes at death. Death is the end of life. There is no more chance to seek the doorway to eternal life. 

While the idea of a second chance for salvation is appealing, the Bible is clear that death is the end of all chances. 

Hebrews 9:27‭-‬28 NIV Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

As long as a person is alive, they have a second, third, fourth, fifth, unlimited chances to accept Christ and be saved. However once a person dies, there are no more chances. 

That door also closes if Jesus returns before you die. 

1 Thessalonians 4:16‭-‬18 NIV For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

When Jesus comes, those who are prepared will enter with him, and the door will be shut.  Remember this parable of Jesus?

Matthew 25:1‭-‬12 NIV “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ “ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

Those who were unprepared for the bridegroom begged him to open the door, but the response was negative.  The door was shut and not opened again. 

Conclusion

It is obvious from our text that Jesus saw himself as the only and true gateway to God. He offers us eternal life if we believe that he is God’s way to heaven. He also provides us with safety and protection. 

Psalms 46:1‭-‬3 NIV God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

I say this to everyone who has not accepted Jesus' invitation to enter. God’s door is open, but it will also close someday. I say this not to frighten you, but to demonstrate the urgency of responding to him and to remind you that there is no door to God but Jesus.

The good news is that God loves us. But the bad news is that we’re separated from our loving God by our sins. The Bible says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NLT).

We cannot reach God through good works, moral living, or religious rituals. But God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. He is the door.

John 3:16 NKJV For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Jesus is the only hope for the world to come, He is the only hope we have for being found spotless and blameless before God. Only Jesus is the answer to humanity’s problem with sin and our only hope for righteousness. The Father sent His Son Jesus, who willingly went and died on the cross for our sins. If we turn from our sins and believe in Jesus, He will forgive us.

Sermon Audio